CAREER SPECIAL...ROADBLOCKS AHEAD

All of us at some point stumble upon roadblocks in our careers. Experts discuss how such obstacles can become the learning curve you need to move up the corporate ladder

We often get so involved in pacing up the rungs of the corporate ladder that more often than not, a stumbling step is assumed to be part and parcel of the vigorous business game. A career roadblock is an inevitable anomaly in the corporate sphere and while sometimes, we unexpectedly plummet into a stumbling block, on intermittent occasions, we subconsciously create (self-made) impediments in our professional lives. "It is an individual's prerogative to understand what is lacking in his/her career and seek solutions for it, but as an HR personnel, it also becomes a central part of our busy schedules to identify employees in the organisation who are seemingly less-focused, non-performing, stressed, timid or even oblivious and reason it with them and find solutions for the same," says Brian Almeida, MD, Direxions Global Solutions Pvt Ltd.
But, what is the root cause for all this alarm? Amulya Sah, Deputy GM-HR, Samsung India - Software Engineering Lab explains, "In your professional career, if you do not learn from the mistakes made at an early age, then chances are your growth will be stunted no matter what capabilities you carry. Additionally, sticking to one track of growth is sure to ring in your professional doomsday. In any sphere of the corporate game, if one does not diversify their learnings, then one is surely digging his/her own grave." He further adds, "Trotting down the slippery slope of over-achievement, which if not handled well, can be dangerous as things can spin out of control at the very height of one's professional career. This can be another major root cause that concocts such self-made roadblocks."
A guiding hand in such a scenario can do wonders in helping one trounce such impediments. Chaitali Mukherjee, country manager, India, Right Management believes, "HR has a very important role to play at organisational levels to ensure that such situations don't arise for too many of their employees. Ensuring that you are continuously developing people and taking adequate measures to provide the necessary development options, planning successors for roles across levels, etc are some of the steps that HR can take at an organisation level or a systemic level to avoid such situations."
So, getting knocked down by these roadblocks isn't the problem, but staying knocked down is. After all, it's not how the phoenix burns that makes it a legend but how it rises from the ashes.
- Lynn Lobo